The tiebird is a bird from the plover family. Its size is small: body length up to 20 centimeters, and weight up to 65 grams. Ringworms are widespread in the tundra zones of Eurasia, as well as in North America. There are also on the territory of Eurasia in the Kaliningrad region, along the coast of the Baltic Sea.
What does a tie look like?
The color of the ties is memorable and even elegant. Black, gray and white colors alternate here, which are distributed in strict areas along the bird’s feathers. The dorsal part and crown of the tie are brown-gray, on the wings the same and black colors alternate. The beak is yellow, with an orange tint, at the tip the color turns black.
Young birds that have already left the state of chicks, but have not fully matured, look somewhat different. Thus, the plumage color of “adolescents” has a less saturated color, and black color is almost universally replaced by brown. Also, a young ringed beak can be identified by its beak: its orange and black colors do not have a clear border, mixing into a certain intermediate shade.
The necktie got its name thanks to the “branded” black stripe around the neck. It has a rich black color, standing out brightly from the surrounding white feathers. This gives the bird a strict and businesslike look, immediately associated with a tie.
Lifestyle of a tiemaker
The typical habitat of the ringworm is the tundra, sandbars or pebbly shores of water bodies. Being migratory birds, they return to their nesting places with the onset of the warm season. Scientists have proven that every bird flies exactly to the place where it nested last year. Thus, all ringed birds (like many other species of birds) always return to the place of their birth.
The nest of this bird is not a complex design solution. This is an ordinary hole, the bottom of which is sometimes lined with natural material leaves, grass and its own fluff. The nature of this litter may vary depending on the specific location and climatic conditions.
An interesting feature of the tie is the creation of false nests. In general, the male is engaged in the construction of the “house”. He digs several holes in a suitable area at a decent distance from each other. And only one of them becomes a real nest.
There are four eggs in a standard clutch of ties. Very rarely this number changes to three or five. Since the nests are located directly on the ground and do not have special protection, they often become the object of attack by predatory animals and birds. If the clutch dies, the female lays new eggs. The number of clutches per season can reach five.
In a normal situation, without “force majeure”, ringers create a clutch and hatch chicks twice a summer. In regions with a cold climate and tundra terrain once.
Variety of tie
In addition to the usual tie, there is a membranous tie. Outwardly, it looks almost the same, but differs, for example, in the presence of webbed paws. And the surest sign by which two birds can be distinguished is the voice. An ordinary tie has a low whistle of a very sad tone. Webbed “brother” has a sharper and more optimistic voice. His whistle has a rising tone and looks like some kind of “he-we”.
The webbed-toed ringworm is widely distributed in Alaska, Yukon and other northern areas. It also nests in the tundra and, with the onset of cold weather, migrates to warmer regions.
